it s the strictly come dancing final tomorrow night now on bbc news it s time for newswatch. hello and welcome to the last news watch of 2021. as covid 19 cases rates sharply, as bbc news focused too much on the governments political troubles? and is it strictly necessary to feature bbc celebrity dancing show on bbc news? notwithstanding which looks increasingly like a health emergency over the omicron variant of covid 19, the government has faced a legion of difficulties this week. on tuesday night, there was the biggest backbench rebellion of boris johnson s premiership of the covid 19 regulations. the conservatives lost the by election with the seat that they ve held for more than 20 years of the majority of 23,000. and details of parties around westminster last december continued to swirl around. here is hell and reporting on sunday with the latest revelations about what went on in downing street a year ago. it s the christmas quiz the downing street said was virtual bu
illness than previous variants but that who is whining against complacency. we that who is whining against complacency- that who is whining against comlacen .~ ., that who is whining against comlacen . ., . ., complacency. we are concerned that eole are complacency. we are concerned that people are dismissing complacency. we are concerned that people are dismissing omicron - complacency. we are concerned that people are dismissing omicron as . people are dismissing omicron as mild. surely we have learned by now that we underestimate this virus at our peril. borisjohnson boris johnson and his borisjohnson and his government try to navigate this pandemic. borisjohnson is facing his biggest backbench rebellion since he became prime minister with more than 70 conservative mps expected to reject his plan to bring in covid passes in england. it s one of three votes this evening on new measures. we are expecting them all to pass, because the opposition labour party has said
unified in their concern over russia s military build up on its border with ukraine. and it s going to be a nail biter. max verstappen beats lewis hamilton to pole position for sunday s formula one title decider in abu dhabi. hello and welcome. president biden has promised federal aid, after tornadoes devastated at least five us states, flattening whole towns. the worst hit state is kentucky, where the governor, andy beshear, says at least 70 people have been killed many of them in a candle factory in the town of mayfield. there ve been reports of deaths too in arkansaw , missouri, tennessee and illinois, where six amazon workers have been confirmed dead, after the roof of their warehouse collapsed. our north america correspondent nomia iqbal reports. the scale of the destruction has been extraordinary. in the dead of night, dark funnel clouds rolled across six states in four hours at 220 mph, obliterated everything in their path. this small town of mayfield in kentucky h
the us in the uk have expressed deep concern that russia has amassed tens of thousands of troops at the border with the ukraine. the foreign secretary discussed the threat in liverpool. here is our diplomatic correspondent james langdale. russian forces on manoeuvre near the border with the ukraine, at least according to the russian government, which says this is alljust regular training. but western governments are not so sure. they estimate more than 100,000 russian troops are now massed on the border, enough, they claim, for an invasion. that is something these ministers say they are determined to prevent. the foreign secretary and g7 counterparts want to act together and put on a show of unity that russian aggression would be wrong and would come at a high price. it would be wrong and would come at a high price- at a high price. it would be extremely at a high price. it would be extremely serious - at a high price. it would be extremely serious if - at a high price. it